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GAZETTE
' APRIL 1990
both plaintiffs and defendants in
this area.
Perhaps the most surprising as-
pect of Mr. McKechnie's presenta-
tion was the forcefulness with
which he argued for a 'no-fault'
system of compensation for those
who suffer injury as a result of
medical treatment. The case for it
was, he said, "so strong as to be
virtually unanswerable". This is
certainly a major issue for the
future.
The other Irish legal contributor
to the Conference was Adrian
Glover, Solicitor, who presented the
defence viewpoint. He expressed
the opinion that the level of
damages in medical negligence
cases may have reached a plateau
and he stated that, on behalf of his
medical clents, he did make in-
formal discovery of all records and
X-rays at an early stage, when
requested to do so. He made some
interesting observations on the gap
in communication between doctor
and patient, on the drop in applica-
tions to medical schools and on the
staggering increase in subscription
rates paid by doctors to the Medical
Protection Society, who, together
with the Medical Defence Union,
are the main professional indemnity
insurers for doctors in the UK and
in this country. Mr. Glover pointed
out that the two medical defence
organisations are not commercial
insurance companies and do not
settle cases on the ground of
expediency, even if, by reason of
the high costs involved, it would be
far cheaper for them to do so; and
if they believed that their doctor
member has not been negligent in
a particular case, that case would
be fully defended, whatever the
cost.
Other legal contributors were
Ann Alexander, London Solicitor,
and Roger Brosnahan, Minnesota
lawyer, on respectively the English
Experience and the American
Experience; and, Robert Mackrill,
Accountant of BDO Binder Hamlyn,
on Assessing Quantum - and the
Use of Forensic Accountants.
The medical speakers at the
Conference, dealing with problems
in the areas of anaesthesia, general
surgery, obstetrics and gynaeco-
logy, and orthopaedics were
Professor John Robinson, Emeritus
Professor
of
Anaesthesia,
Birmingham University; Mr. J. A.
Dormandy, Cnsultant Surgeon, St.
Georges & St. James' Hospital,
London; Mr. Roger Clements,
Consultant in Obstetrics and
Gynaecology; and Professor
Thomas Duckworth, Professor of
Orthopaedics.
To conclude on a light note, the
following description was given by
one of the medical contributors of
the troubled relationship between
the surgeon, the anaesthetist and
the patient - "the half-awake
being dealt with by the half-asleep
being half murdered by the
half-wit".
By comparison, the relationship
between solicitors and barristers
seems extraordinarily untroubled!
•Action for V i c t ims of Medical
Accidents (AVMA), Bank Chambers, 1
London Road, Forest Hill, London S E 23
3TP; Tel London (01) - 291-2793.
Founded by Dr. A. J. F. O'Reilly to honour the memory
of his late father, the Fund provides a
SCHOLARSHIP of £5,000
to contribute towards the cost of attendance at a
full-time or part-time MBA course.
The Fund seeks to promote knowledge of Commercial
Law and Corporate Finance among young Irish solicitors.
Award is by competition, open to all apprentices and
solicitors qualified within the last five years who satisfy
entry requirements for an approved MBA course, whether
at home or abroad.
Competition will have two tiers:
(1) An essay of between 3,000 and 5,000 words in a
Commercial Law subject chosen by the candidate;
(2) A panel interview which will assess the background
interests, motivation and potential of selected
essayists.
Applications to participate to be made not later than the
18th May; completed essays by the 30th June, 1990. It
is hoped that the successful candidate will commence
the study programme in autumn 1990.
Telephone or write to Professor L. G. Sweeney, Director
of Training, Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin
(710711).
107